


interlude

by perennials



Series: at the end of the road is a longer road [1]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: A Coffee Shop In Hell mind you, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, i'm only up to ep 80 u gotta understand, is barista the right word, what the hell did gon give killua
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-04 00:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6634129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perennials/pseuds/perennials
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because you are tired, and everyone needs space to breathe sometimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	interlude

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first time writing for a fandom outside of gintaman please keep that in mind thank
> 
> credits to ao3 user sings/giant for the original 'coffee shop in hell' au tweet

"Welcome to hell!"

A boy with a head of black hair that sticks out in all directions— the barista, presumably— greets him with a smile like sunshine. He's short and slight, doesn't look to be much older than Killua himself, if at all, and wearing a black vest over a white collared shirt with cuffed sleeves. Long black pants and matching black loafers complete the outfit, while a leprechaun green tie tucked smartly into the vest makes a bright mark against his white collar.

"This is hell?" Killua asks skeptically, examining his surroundings with mild interest.

"Yup," the bartender confirms as he makes a swipe at the uppermost shelf behind the counter with outstretched fingers. "Take a look outside!"

His curiosity piqued, Killua glances out the window to his left. He's greeted with a wall of cobalt blue flame, licking hungrily up the windowpanes, blowing hot heavy kisses against the glass. The fire bears in on him from all four sides, casting everything in a faintly blue glow— it's almost claustrophobic, being in this confined space through which one can't even catch a glimpse of the sky. No wonder the temperature inside seemed abnormally high, even for a quaint little coffee shop with no fans or air conditioning and little circulation. Without thinking, he presses the tips of his fingers to the glass. _Hot_.

The barista chuckles. "Scared?"

"No, not particularly." Killua stuffs his hands back in his pockets and idles over to the counter, where the other boy is still struggling with his very important mission. "After all, I'm already dead, aren't I?"

The barista laughs curiously.

"Can you get me something, Mr. Barista?"

"Sure! I'm trying to get that jar first, though." It's not that he's particularly weak, or even that he's too short, Killua notes, just that the shelf itself is too high. Despite the fact that the building is probably two or three stories tall, the interior stretches upwards without any additional floors or landings. Instead, the brick walls are adorned with row upon row of sprawling shelves that spiral upwards in a surprisingly orderly fashion. These are lined with polished jars labelled with an array of words, from familiar ones like _coffee bean_ and _honey_ to outlandish, bizarre ones like _orthrus fang_ and _dodomeki eye_. Whichever one he's reaching for, it's probably near the very top.

Killua hums lightly, peering up at the shelves. The domed ceiling above them seems to be made of tin and is covered with tens of hundreds of elaborately-carved ceramic panels that bump and slide around each other with a sort of restless energy. From the dead center hangs an intricate inky-black chandelier. It's layered with hoops like a wedding cake flipped upside down, and on every metal layer sits a circle of tiny pixies in glittering garb, each holding a flickering candle almost twice their own size. "Need a little help?"

"Ermm, you're not much taller than I am." The barista frowns at him.

"Just tell me which one you need, I'll get it." Killua flashes him a reassuring grin.

The barista contemplates his offer for a fraction of a second before relenting. "That one up there, labeled _Baku Tears_ with ‘imit.’ in brackets."

"Got it." With all the agility and grace of a cat, Killua jumps and secures the mason jar snugly in his arms in the blink of an eye. It's a lot larger— and heavier— than it'd looked from ground level; he fumbles with it for a second, but manages to regain his balance and land safely back on his feet.

"Ooh, nice. Even I can't jump that high!"

With a (mostly) straight face (and cheeks that aren't dusted with red at all, not _at all_ ), Killua slides the jar across the counter to him. "What would you have done if I hadn't been here?" He asks, mostly out of curiosity.

"I would've gotten my fishing rod, probably," the barista muses, "but I didn't want to go to the trouble of retrieving it from the storeroom, so I thought I'd try to get it myself."

"Ah, I see." _Fishing rod, huh._ Killua files this information away in a corner of his mind for future reference. "So, what's your name?"

"I'm Gon!" The barista replies cheerfully, grabbing a more reasonably positioned jar from behind him and setting the water to boil. "And you are—?"

"Killua." He sits down on one of the high stools by the counter and rests his chin in one hand.

Gon takes out a handful of something unidentifiable and puts it in a white mug. "Nice to meet you, Killua. You're new around these places, aren't you?"

"Uhuh."

"Do you remember anything from before you got here?"

Killua furrows his brows in concentration. "...Nope."

"Hmm, I see."

A short while later, the timer for the kettle goes off. Gon pours a stream of clear water into the mug, then unscrews the lid from the jar Killua snagged earlier and carefully adds a few drops of shimmering liquid.

"You're the only guy in charge here?"

"Nah," Gon laughs bashfully as he sets the steaming mug before Killua. "I'm way too bad at this to be put in charge! There are more experienced guys that work here, but they're out right now."

Killua raises an eyebrow, regarding the mug suspiciously. The rich, creamy scent is all he needs with which to hazard a guess— hot chocolate, perhaps. "So coffee shops in hell serve hot chocolate too, huh."

"Actually, it's the only thing I know how to make." Gon makes a sheepish face.

Killua's no idea what _Baku_ are, or what magical properties imitation tears that share their name might have, but he figures they can't do that much harm to him either way, seeing how he's already dead. Shrugging, he lifts the mug to his lips and takes a sip.

"Oh, this isn't half bad." Having expected something mediocre that you'd be able to get at a family mart for ninety-nine cents for some reason, Killua finds himself rather pleasantly surprised. The sweetness is an alien sensation on his tongue (how long has it been since he last ate or drank anything, anyway?), one that sends a jolt of pure energy coursing through him in a way that even the vibrant scenery outside and intriguing interior decor couldn't. He downs the rest in one go, the burning sensation of hot liquid running down his throat strangely invigorating.

Gon beams at him. "Thanks! Kurapika said that if I couldn't learn how to make everything at once, I should at least master one recipe."

"Well, I think you’ve did a pretty good job of that." Killua gives him a shaky thumbs-up.

—Wait. Is Gon swaying from side to side, or is that him?

"I think you've done a pretty good job of holding up, too." Gon's voice is suddenly very, very soft, almost as if he’s whispering right into Killua’s ear. In fact, his surroundings are beginning to melt like pudding under a hot summer sun, coalescing into one huge glob of soggy black and electric blue. Maybe he’s melting too, because he can feel himself sliding off the stool like jelly and falling back into a pair of steady yet gentle arms, and his eyelids are getting heavier and heavier against his own will, but there is a mellifluous voice saying _it’s okay to take a nap, I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry_ — so for the first time since he’s set foot inside this strange coffee shop with its gloomy lighting and absurd decor and even weirder barista, Killua lets himself relax.

The last thing he sees is a blurry ray of sunshine.

**Author's Note:**

> hello from the very beginning of the chimera ant arc, i'm not done with the anime or caught up with the manga yet so i can't do canon material justice right now, but my ass was itching to write Something for this insane(ly incredible) series, so here i am with my first contribution to this fandom (aka i'm sorry i know i suck a lot). if all goes well this will become a terrible series and kurapika will make an appearance in the next one. if all does not go well i get sucked too far into hell and never resurface and die taking my mid year exams. we will see  
> kudos and comments are cool, and so are you, reader-guy, but comments are the coolest of them all.
> 
> have a good one


End file.
